OK I did transmission fluid flush on my 02 4.4i

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by m5james

Probably couldnt hurt since warmer fluids flow better. I even cranked the engine (don't actually let it run) over a handful of times to get fluid pumped out of the lines.

Yes, but a warm transmission, the filling part will be a bitch. You need to fill it cold, then warm up. If the fill process starts out too warm, then you won't fill it up with the right amount.

[JCL]

Whereas it probably wouldn't hurt, transmission fluid is essentially a 10w oil, and so it flows pretty well anyway. I wouldn't warm it up myself, just to avoid working around hot components.

[mysweetx5]

I did my 1st Transmission Fluid change 3days ago @123,538miles on a 2001 BMW X5 4.4i. However, my transmission was smooth with no issue
But as you guys know, there are many discurtions in the forum outhere
about the word (Lifetime fluid). For me, I think this is too good 2 be true,
*Nothing could be Lifetime really, even bridges have to be rebuilt one day.
And I hate when people talking trash about (New Fluid will shock the Tranny).

I than decided to change my Transmission Fluid before things get worst
because the only issue I used to have is: when i selected reverse, if I don't
wait for 2 sec. to press the gas pedal, I feel a little jump or skipping back.
I just had some feeling that it might be related to transmission. Otherwise
everything was shifting smoothly.

To began, I had to gently try to loose all 22 transmission hex bolts to ensure that I could move forward with the job, because they were badly
injured and that was my mainly concern to not have to stop in the middle of it. 1st. I did not have my personal driveway to work and the only area I could found to do it is near my house which is only 95% level each-either. So I went and do it anyway with 4 Ramps holding 12000Lbs each.
Amazingly, I was able to get loose all 22 pan bolts first before began the
job. Overhaul, it was not bad at all guys, I was alone working all by my self as usual, and the job went well successfully. After filling 4 qrts of fluid inside, I than crawling inside the car for the switching gears. I wen't through all the gears but noticed while pausing to each gear, it won't stay
to 4 & 5. It just skip 4 & 5 and going back to 3rd gear,

I than crawling under the car again while engine it's running now to add 1qrt/ half more fluid, after doing so, fluid started dripping out of the filler
hole. I than tight everything up and go ahead for a test drive, Overhaul I can say the job has been well done, the car is smooth as usual with much more confidence now by knowing that my transmission pan is cleaned from debris since 11yrs now. (See pictures for details)

[JCL]

Originally Posted by mysweetx5

There are many discussions in the forum
about the words Lifetime Fluid. For me, I think this is too good to be true. Nothing could be Lifetime really, even bridges have to be rebuilt one day.
And I hate when people talking trash about New Fluid will shock the Transmission

Lifetime means the transmission lifetime, not your lifetime. And most bridges last longer than transmissions; I don't understand the bridge analogy, since we don't usually change the fluid in bridges.

I wouldn't say the new fluid shocks the transmission since transmissions don't really care about what fluid is in them, as long as it meets the spec. What the new fluid and all the detergents it contains does do is clean out all the build up in the transmission and flush it out. Since there is nowhere for the residue to go it tends to settle in the valve body, where it blocks small but vital control passages and orfices. Then, you can get shifting problems, caused not so much by the new fluid, as by the detergents in the new fluid.

If you change it frequently enough you will tend to avoid that particular problem (no guarantees, though). Then the real debate becomes whether your investment in frequent fluid changes has any effect on the time to failure of the transmission, and thus whether it was a good investment, or simply money down the drain. Changing the fluid only makes sense if not changing it contributes to failures.

What I hate is when people talk trash about tribology.

[MHKitchen]

Just a comment. I went through the dreaded tranny rebuild due to a cracked clutch housing several years ago. I developed a close relationship with the local authorized ZF tranny rebuilder as a result. My wife's '97 Jag XK8 uses the same tranny and was having some lurching issues. After consulting with a very experienced ZF mechanic, he confessed that these ZF trannies often exhibited more problems and potential slipping after fluid was changed. His recommendation was to just leave them alone and keep driving them and don't change fluid unless some serious problem comes up that requires disassembly. Her tranny problem turned out to be a faulty switch on the tranny Sport mode. No fluid change and now at 170K miles and running fine.

[mysweetx5]

OK, as promised, I am posting my experience flushing my tanny.
The car is X5 4.4i 2001 with 123,535 miles on it and this
service has never been done in the past.
Lifeguard5 Fluid is for 5-speed ZF transmission E53 and may be used on other years/model as well.

The tools you need:
- T27 Torx bit
- 8mm Hex drive (for the filler and drain plugs)
- 10mm socket
- Torque wrench (lower range from arounf 6lbft to 50lbft)
- Oil manual pump to put the fresh ATF into the pan (see one of the pictures)
- Rubbermaid small step stool.
- Oil catch pan (I use 10 quart version)
- Plenty of rags or kitty liter, trust me you’ll have plenty Pentosin on your garage floor
- I use brake cleaner spray to clean the pans and hands

The parts
-Trans filter
- trans pan gasket+all 22 hex bolts have been replaced
- Lifeguard5=Esso LT71141 (I ordered 6 quarts) for $87.

Job has been successfully done! car still driving smooth as usual.

[upallnight]

Don't know if anyone corrected the comment by the original poster (didn't want to go through all the posts) that the car was brought to operating temp when he did the second fluid add with the engine running, but the fluid in the trans and when I say trans I also mean the torque converter should be in a range of 30C to 50C. Since our engine operates at close to 195F which is pretty close to the temp at which water boil 100C bringing the car to operating temp, exceeds the 50C range that the fluid should be at according to the procedure for checking and filling the trans.

[Multibeemer]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Don't know if anyone corrected the comment by the original poster (didn't want to go through all the posts) that the car was brought to operating temp when he did the second fluid add with the engine running, but the fluid in the trans and when I say trans I also mean the torque converter should be in a range of 30C to 50C. Since our engine operates at close to 195F which is pretty close to the temp at which water boil 100C bringing the car to operating temp, exceeds the 50C range that the fluid should be at according to the procedure for checking and filling the trans.

That's an important point, because if you get the transmission too hot, the fluid with expand, causing it to spill out of the fill hole before the transmission is truly full.

To add more fuel to the fire surrounding the controversy about whether changing the trans fluid makes sense, I'd offer this - the average American keeps his car around 10 years now. This means there are probably tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of cars driving around with well over 150,000 miles on them. Of these, I'd say less than 20% have ever had their transmission fluid changed. If it were really that critical to do this, the roadsides would be strewn with cars with dead transmissions. I'm not saying this is a terrible thing to do, I'm just not convinced it really makes much difference, plus it's not exactly an inexpensive bit of maintenance.

As one anecdotal data point, I drained and filled the trans fluid on my daughter's 04 E46 about a year and a half, and 18,000 miles, ago. The fluid that came out looked brand new - not even a trace of sediment in the pan. It even smelled new. We have the records of the car since new, and there's no record of the trans fluid ever having been changed. It ran fine before, and it ran fine after the drain & fill. But now, 18 months later, it's starting to slip when cold. So, my conclusion is that the drain and fill didn't cause the current problem, but I don't think it did anything to delay it, either. In other words, I don't think it had any effect one way or the other. I think I'm going to pass on the drain & fill on our other two BMWs, including the X5.

[upallnight]

There was a commercial one time about a mechanic and his parting remarks was you can pay me now or pay me later.

The analogy is that the preventative maintenance cost will be less than the repair cost later.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by upallnight

There was a commercial one time about a mechanic and his parting remarks was you can pay me now or pay me later.

The analogy is that the preventative maintenance cost will be less than the repair cost later.

The problem with applying that to automatic transmissions is that changing fluids doesn't qualify as preventative maintenance, since there isn't a correlation between changing the fluid and getting more life out of the transmission, at least on recent model BMWs.

As a mechanic and service manager, I didn't sell transmission fluid changes most of the time.